Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,500 employees in 75 countries, and markets its products in more than 180 countries.

Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Novo-B). Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NVO).

Press Releases

[San Francisco, USA] - New data from the IMPROVE™ study show that significant improvements in glycaemic (blood sugar) control can be achieved with premixed modern insulin, NovoMix® 30, in patients poorly controlled on other, or no previous pharmaceutical treatment. The results were announced over the weekend at the 68th annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in San Francisco.

IMPROVE™ is the largest ever observational study in diabetes involving nearly 58,000 patients from 11 countries and was designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of NovoMix® 30 in type 2 diabetes.

The study showed that on average, patients’ overall HbA1c levels (the key measure for diabetes control) dropped significantly – by 2.6 percentage points – after treatment with NovoMix® 30.1 While there was a large drop in HbA1c of 2.5 percentage points in patients who had not been previously treated with insulin2, an even greater improvement of 3.0 percentage points was seen in those who had previously been poorly controlled on other insulin regimens.3

Overall, a total of 71% of patients reached the HbA1c target level of less than or equal to 7%1 and this was achieved with a 70% reduction in patient-reported major hypoglycaemic events and no significant weight gain.1 These results also had a significant impact on quality of life – average score of patient satisfaction with treatment rose from 57.2 (out of 100) to 74.5 by the end of the study.4

“While the number of people left with very high HbA1c levels before treatment with insulin is alarming, it is encouraging that treatment with NovoMix® 30 was able to bring them in good control in just six months,” said Professor Paul Valensi, head of the Department of Endocrinology-Diabetology-Nutrition at the Jean Verdier Hospital in France, and principal investigator of the IMPROVE™ study. “NovoMix® 30 is clearly an effective treatment option for poorly controlled diabetes patients.”

Despite the global burden of diabetes and its serious health consequences, many patients are either left untreated or on a treatment that is no longer effective, both of which can exacerbate complications and co-morbidities. The extent of ineffective glycaemic control is confirmed by the baseline data from IMPROVE™, with average HbA1c levels of 9.4% at the beginning of the study.5 As a result, many patients had macro- (27.5%) and microvascular (42.1%) complications when they were enrolled.5

The results presented at ADA were from a preliminary analysis of 17,313 patients from China, Japan, Poland, Italy, India and Russia, who had completed the study by November 2007. The final results from the full IMPROVETM study population will be available later in the year.

NovoMix® 30 is used as a simple way to start insulin in many countries. The dose can easily be intensified as patients’ diabetes inevitably progresses. This is done simply and without changing treatment, therefore offering patients increased reassurance and control over their condition.

Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. In addition, Novo Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society. With headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 26,300 employees in 80 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Novo Nordisk’s B shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London. Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘NVO’. For more information, visit novonordisk.com.

Who we are

Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

Novo Nordisk employs approximately 41,500 employees in 75 countries, and markets its products in more than 180 countries.